Mary Anne in the Middle II
by MaryAnnefan4Life
Summary: Poor Mary Anne! She tries her best to stay out of Meredith and Carlos' when they try to tell her about each other. Mary Anne hopes things would get better soon.
1. Carlos Gets Mad at Meredith

The Baby-Sitters Club belongs to Ann M. Martin

I was walking to school with my stepsister, Dawn Schafer, from Burnt Hill Road, where we live in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. I'm Mary Anne Spier I'm 14 and attend Stoneybrook High School for ninth grade. My two adopted siblings, Carlos Peters and Meredith Sousa, already left before us because they had to volunteer at the school library for a short takes class called volunteer class together.

I got a short takes class myself. I have a sewing class, which is good since I love sewing and Dawn has environment science, which she loves to keep the Earth clean. She's from California. Her mom, Sharon, happened to be my father's former high school girlfriend. Boy, were they glad to get back together after being separated- by Sharon's parents-after Sharon moved back here! Her son, Jeff, was here for a while before moving back to California after being miserable here.

Dawn was already my best friend before we became sisters. That's how I ended up on Burnt Hill Road after I grew up on Bradford Court. At least my boyfriend, Logan Bruno, lives down the street from me. At school, Carlos seemed to be very unhappy about something.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the school library?" I asked.

"And, where's Meredith?" asked Dawn.

"She promised to meet me here, but hasn't showed up yet," replied Carlos.

"Didn't you both leave early?" I asked.

"Yes," replied Carlos. "She better have a good reason why she's late."

"Um, I wouldn't be hard on her if I were you," said Dawn.

"Yeah, I agree. What if she gets mad? And, what if you didn't want to believe her?" I asked.

"So, you better watch out," added Dawn.

That was when Meredith showed up and said, "Sorry if I'm late to meet you, Carlos. I had to talk to our teacher about our assignment. You were supposed to do that with me so we can be assigned. The teacher thought you were out."

"That was very immature of you to say that," said Carlos.

"If you don't believe me, go ask the teacher," said Meredith.

"Fine," said Carlos as he left.

"I can't believe he didn't go there with me," said Meredith. "I have every right to say anything."

"I know. He should know you were correct," I said.

"I better get going. I'm not getting into trouble for being late," said Meredith as she leaves for the school library.

"We should get to our classes, too," I said.

"Yeah," agreed my stepsister.

When I got in the sewing class, I sat near my friend, Marci, who has that class with me. She was the only one who was with me. Stacey, the math whiz, got this difficult math class called Calicus II. Claudia, who loves art, has an art class where she can make her own jewelry which she likes to do at her own home and art lessons. Both Logan and Kristy have gym that has baseball and would have a few games. Unlike me, they're both good at sports. Kayla and her twin, Kaylee, got career.

It's nice when high school has short takes. I enjoyed that at Stoneybrook Middle School.

After they did roll calls, we were told we can go to the school library to check out for different sewing assignments. When we got there, I noticed something was wrong. Carlos and Meredith were not talking to one another. I decided the best way not to get caught in the middle is to stay away. Smart idea, huh?

I was looking at a sewing book when Carlos came up to me and said, "Meredith is a pill."

"I hate to break it up to you, but I don't have the time right now. I'm just here for a book for my sewing class," I said.

"But I want to tell you what she did," said Carlos.

"Can you wait until later?" I asked.

I got out a book of homemade clothes and other stuff. Perfect choice. I used my library card to check it out. The other classmates were still looking around, the teacher was still there.

"Am I allowed to go back to class? I already got the book," I said.

"Sure you can. I'll let any student to head back when their book is checked out," said the teacher.

"Okay," I said as I headed back to the sewing class.

As you can see, I did that so I can stay out of Meredith and Carlos' way.


	2. Carlos' Side of the Story

When I got there, I took some notes down while the other students started coming back to class. I was glad I stayed out of Carlos and Meredith's fight. I did not want to take their sides. I was still doing notes when the last student and the teacher came back.

"You may take notes if you want to," said the teacher.

At least I had that started right away. At lunch, I was in line when both Meredith and Carlos came. They were both arguing to be with me.

"Either you both can or none of you can be with me if you keep on fighting," I said.

There. That did it. Somehow they stopped. By the time I got my lunch, they were at it once again. They are driving me nuts! But I walked away without them knowing it. I sat with my other friends.

"What's going on with Carlos and Meredith?" asked Kristy.

"I don't know, but I'm not going to bother to be put in the middle," I replied.

"That was a smart idea to do," agreed Kristy.

"I agree," said Stacey.

Meredith and Carlos must have noticed I walked away because they both came to me.

"How come you didn't wait for us?" asked Carlos.

"Well, you were both arguing again," I replied. "I don't need that. If Dad knew you were yelling at each other, he would ground you both. He hates it when someone yells and you know it."

After lunch, I was getting ready to start a project. I was planning to make a shirt with a cat design on it. I made a blueprint on how I wanted to make it. The teacher agreed with my idea and the other students had decided to do that as well. They liked that plan, too.

After school, Meredith came up to me and said, "Carlos is _so_ immature when he wants to be today. He thinks everything is my fault."

"I'd like to stay to have you talk to me about it, but I have to head home to catch the limo, which will be coming very shortly," I said shutting my locker.

I dashed home before the limo arrived and I went in there. Cam Geary happens to be my favorite movie star and I've been going to the recording studios with him for about a year. It's in Stamford.

"I see that you made it in time," said Cam.

"Yes. Meredith was about to tell me stuff behind Carlos' back," I said as I told him what was going on.

"Boy. At least you did the smart by walking away to ignore them," said Cam.

"Tell me about it," I agreed. "My friends said the same thing. There was no way I'd be caught in the middle."

"I don't blame you at all," said Cam.

Later, at home, I was in my room since I always eat early when I'm at the studios. I was reading when Carlos came in to me.

"What did Meredith say about me?" asked Carlos.

"Nothing. I didn't pay attention since I didn't have time to hear a thing," I replied, which was true.

"She can be rough often," said Carlos.

 _Oh, brother,_ _here we go, I thought._

"Don't believe what she says about me," said Carlos.

"Well, I wasn't the one who was immature this morning, you were," said Meredith who walked by.

"That's not true!" cried Carlos.

"I am not kidding," said Meredith.

"Can you both quit it?" I asked. "You could get in trouble if Dad hears you."

I got up and got away.

"You've got to listen to what I say," said Meredith who stopped me.

"Why? So I can be caught in the middle? No thank you," I said. "I may be a good listener, but I don't think any great listener would want to be put in the middle."

I went downstairs and decided to go outside to continue reading on a hammock when Carlos came out to me.

"Can you _please_ listen to my side of the story?" asked Carlos. "Meredith was a drama queen all day today. She wouldn't let me check out just because she was mad at me. So, I had to do something else. You know what else happened? She took over my assignment."

"What if the librarian tells her to do something? You can't get mad for nothing," I said.

"She just does stuff without being told and if I didn't do something, the librarian would yell at me in front of _everyone_. That's not right," said Carlos. "On the top of that, she takes Meredith's side. That's not fair. As you can see, she's the teacher's pet. The other classmates agreed with me on that when they all noticed."

"Do not mention that to Meredith. She will be very mad at you and if you probably told anyone else, she could get teased and she will blame it on you," I warned him.

"I don't care. She deserves it," said Carlos.

"Carlos, you and Meredith protect me from getting hurt. I don't need her to get very upset because of you," I said. "Like me, Meredith is sensitive. I don't want to hear it anymore."

I got up and head back inside. This is how I could be caught right in the middle, which is why I refused to do so most of the day. I would go out of my mind. What if it was a lie? Meredith could go after Carlos one of these days. That's all I need for them to be put me in the middle for the whole time.


	3. Meredith's Side of the Story

The next day, at school, Meredith tried to tell me _her_ side of the story, but I had no time to listen to any stories. She can tell me later when I have time.

At lunch, I still had _no_ time to listen to anything. I hope she'd forget about going to me about her story about Carlos. Somehow, she did- thank goodness! After school, I still didn't have time for Meredith's story since I had to head home before the limo comes for me. It was already there so I got to the limo in a hurry and it took off to Stamford.

"How things with Carlos and Meredith are going?" asked Cam.

"Worse. Carlos kept going after me to listen to his story while I tried to stay out of the middle," I explained telling him what Carlos told me. "Meredith tried to get me to hear her story, but I had no time to listen to any more stories."

"That was smart thing to avoid being stuck in the middle," said Cam.

"I know," I agreed.

Later at home, Meredith came to me while I was trying to study for a test. It was on the sewing vocabulary.

"Carlos' problem is that he gets jealous whenever I do something without being told and he has to be told to do any work that is extra credit," said Meredith. "Worst of all, he told our classmates I was teacher's pet and they agreed with him. That's not even true. Anyone should do stuff without being told period. That doesn't mean I'm a teacher's pet. What a jerk Carlos is."

"Can you not say that in case he hears you if he gets home early?" I asked without looking up.

Luckily, he had a basketball game, so he was all set for that.

"Who cares? I overheard him mentioning the teacher's pet to everyone. Perhaps this can teach him a lesson not to do it again for any reason," said Meredith. "I did nothing wrong. Besides, I like getting good grades, _not_ bad ones."

"Can we talk some more later? I need to study for a test on vocabulary tomorrow," I said.

"Are you even listening to me?" asked Meredith.

"I am, but I need to pass. I do not need to fail for listening to the stories instead of studying. I just said we can talk later," I said as I got up to go study in peace somewhere else.

That was more like it. I was about to continue studying in the den when Meredith came around, but I ignored that so I can keep studying. Thankfully, Dad came to the rescue.

"Let Mary Anne study, Meredith. Don't keep bugging her," said Dad.

That made her leave.

"Thanks. She's just driving me crazy when I don't have the time to hear any stories," I said. "I'll tell you about it after. It's a long story."

He doesn't know what was going on between Carlos and Meredith. I was finally able to study for two more hours without being interrupted. Then, I got up and put my notebook back in my backpack. My neck was starting to hurt- which is why I called it quits.

"What did Meredith have to say?" asked Carlos.

"I didn't have time to hear a thing," I replied.

"You're lying," said Carlos.

"I'm not lying. I was very busy- especially since I was studying. I do not lie," I said.

That sentence was true. How come did he think I was lying? Good question.

"How about this one? You don't need to talk behind anyone's back. Meredith shouldn't either. You'll both need to talk things out," I said.

"No way. Not until she apologizes to me," said Carlos.

"Stabbing behind people's backs can really hurt each other," I pointed out. "Would you like it if someone does that to you?"

There. That should do it- hopefully. Later, Meredith came to me just after I got into my nightgown.

"Now, can you _please_ listen to the rest of my story?" asked Meredith. "What Carlos did was a wrong thing to do: embarrassing me in the library about being the teacher's pet. Thanks to him, the other classmates started picking on me. That's hurtful. I'm not speaking to him as a result. On top of that, my so-called friends are now being jealous of me. Imagine if Dad finds out what Carlos did to me? He'd get mad for that."

"That was your fault," said Carlos.

"Leave me alone. I'm mad for what you did. You'd be in deep trouble if Dad knew what you did," said Meredith. "Mary Anne, I'm not going to be his friend until further notice."

I rolled my eyes and left the room. Why did I have to be in the middle while trying to stay out of it? This is why I did not want to hear about it- period. This is getting on my nerves. If they say one more thing about each other, I'm going to speak up in order to stop them. Perhaps that would stop them to put me in the middle. Good idea, huh? I'll give that a try.

I remembered I didn't tell Dad about what happened. If I could do that, he'd stop them in a heartbeat. I came down to the kitchen while those two are at it. I spotted Dad, who must have heard them.

"What's going on between them?" asked Dad as I told him everything.

"They got me in the middle even though I tried not to," I said.

"I'll go stop them. At least you tried not to be in their way," said Dad.

He finally took off to stop them

"If I hear you both yell again, I will punish both of you," Dad warned them.

He does not like yelling in the house. Thank god it worked! At last: peace and quiet. I was getting a headache, but went away after I took aspirin. It was still quiet when we went to bed. I pray they would not yell at each other tomorrow.


	4. Mary Anne's Tough Night

In the middle of the night, I was getting a slight headache. I got up to take Aleve.

"Are you okay?" asked Dad who must have knew I was up.

"I was getting a headache," I said. "I'm just taking Aleve."

"Okay," said Dad.

I went back to bed hoping it would go away.

The next day, I still got that slight headache.

"How are you feeling this morning?" asked Dad.

"I just got a headache," I replied. "Do you mind if I stay home from school?"

"I don't mind," said Dad.

"I'll just go lie down," I said as I went up to go lie down in my room.

"Mary Anne is staying home from school today because she was getting a headache this morning," said Dad.

"Alright," said Meredith.

Secretly, I'm just glad I won't be in the middle today. Don't think I'm faking it, I'm not. That might be too overwhelming for me. Later, I was still had a headache, so I skipped the studios for today so I can have peace and quiet. That night, I didn't come down for dinner.

"Mary Anne, honey, it's time for supper," said Dad.

I was still in my room asleep.

"She must be sleeping. I'll leave her like that for now," said Dad.

Later, when it was for bed, I was getting a headache for oversleeping. I got up to take an Aleve. An hour later, I got up and came downstairs when Dad, who was in the living room, noticed.

"It's late, you should be in bed," said Dad.

"I was getting a headache again. I took a pill, but I still got it," I said.

"Do you need another pill?" asked Dad.

"Sure. That would be great," I replied. "I believe that was from the stress while I was put in the middle by Carlos and Meredith."

"You're probably right," agreed Dad.

"Between you and me, I was glad I stayed home to be stay out of their way," I said.

"I believe it," said Dad.

Then, I took another Aleve.

"Do you mind if I stay up with you for a bit?" I asked.

"I don't mind, sweetie," replied Dad.

That helped me out. Thankfully, I was able to sleep all night.


	5. Carlos and Meredith's Punishments

The next day, I was back at school. Guess who were trying me to stay in the middle? Both Carlos and Meredith. I am sick and tired of that!

"Can you both please not put me in the middle? I'm tired of that," I said. "Would you like it if _you_ were stuck in the middle?"

Apparently, they ignored what I said. You know what? I walked away. Why can't they work out on their own instead of putting me in the middle?

"Don't you turn your back on me," said Carlos.

I didn't pay attention to him as I walked into the crowds to my classes. After school, Carlos and Meredith embarrassed me in front of everyone by fighting! I can't stand it anymore. I escaped from there before they would get worse hoping the limo would be early and it was as I went in there.

"Good. I'm glad you're here early. I can't stand Carlos and Meredith arguing period. They were just doing that in front of anyone to embarrass me," I said.

"That's not good at all," said Cam.

"I can't wait for their fight to end," I said. "They're driving me crazy."

"I bet," said Cam.

"If I hear them complaining about each other one more time, I'll go nuts and hide in my room until it's over," I said.

"I don't blame you," said Cam.

Later on at home, Meredith came in and complained I walked away on her and Carlos.

"You both embarrassed me by arguing in front of everyone," I said angrily. "It's tiring to hear you both fighting over stupid stuff."

That night, I could hear them both yelling again! I groaned. That's it. I went to them at last.

"Alright, that's enough, you both should sit on the couch," I said. "No one's leaving until you both work things out. If anyone moves a muscle, I can get Dad easily."

That got them quiet down.

"Carlos, you don't blame Meredith on everything. It's not her fault when she does everything without being told. That's how she gets good grades. You don't get other classmates to agree with you about her being a teacher's pet. That's why they teased her because of what you did," I said. "Meredith, Carlos, you need to quit to put me in the middle by talking about each other because it's very tiring after a while. I'm also sick and tired of hearing you both yelling at one another. Dad hates that. He can ground you both like he warned you. You both were punished last time. I don't think you want that to happen again."

"We don't...," started Carlos.

"Sorry, Carlos, but we do care," I cut him off. "You both need to apologize and start getting along. You always did. What happen to that moment?"

They were about to get up when I blocked the doorway.

"What did I say earlier?" I asked.

They ignored my warning and left there. I gave up and went to Dad.

"What's up?" asked Dad. "Did you just try talking to them?"

"And, they didn't stay for long. I just told them they cannot leave the room until things get straighten out. But they didn't care what I said to them," I said.

Then, I heard them again.

"Excuse me," said Dad as he went up to them and separate them. "Enough, you two. You need to stop yelling. I can just hear you from the den. I warned you. Now, you are both punished for the time being."

"But...," began Carlos.

"No buts," Dad interrupted him in a firm voice. "So, if you want to get off punishment, you better apologize to each other. Is that clear?"

Meredith understood. She doesn't complain about anything. She didn't whine when she got punished last time. Carlos didn't like it one bit. I'm the only one who doesn't argue when Dawn starts that, I just walk away so I won't add to the fire. I think Meredith forgot that advice. I think she's trying not to add anything to start the argument.


	6. The Confession

The next day, at school, I was still being caught in the middle saying it's Carlos' fault to get Meredith in trouble and Carlos did the same. And, it's still driving me nuts! Can't they just quit it and apologize to each other if they want to get ungrounded? God knows how long that would take.

At lunch, Carlos came to me and said, "It's all Meredith's fault to get me in trouble."

"You both got in trouble, not just you," I pointed out. "You both should've thought of that before. I warned you both could get in trouble."

I walked away while he tried to stop me.

"You're not a good listener," said Carlos.

"I told you before, a good listener shouldn't be caught in the middle," I said. "No one likes to be caught in the middle."

I thought he was going to grab my shirt, but I got away in time. Later, Carlos became really aggressive and punched me on my arm before I could take off and Kristy came to my rescue.

"Do you really have the nerve to do that to my best friend, Carlos?" asked Kristy as she grabbed me right away. "Wait until your teacher sees this. You have major problems just because she doesn't want to be in the middle. There is no need to punch anyone."

Meredith came over to me and said, "What happened?"

"Carlos just punched Mary Anne on the arm," replied Kristy.

"I'll bring her to the nurse for an ice pack," said Meredith.

"I'll go tell your teacher to let her know," said Kristy.

"Alright," said Meredith as she got me and brought me to the nurse. "Looks like you're getting a bruise."

"Yeah, I know. I'm glad Kristy came to my rescue," I said.

"Me, too," said Meredith. "Wait until Dad finds out about this."

In the nurse's office, I had an ice pack on my arm and boy, does that hurt. I did feel better after that.

I found out that Carlos got in trouble and had a detention for two days starting today. And, Cam texted me to tell me Jennifer was out and there would be no studios for today. At home, Meredith was like my nurse.

"Wow, you got a bruise," said Meredith.

Dad probably got home early because we heard him come in and I came out.

"Hi, Jennifer's out and there would be no studios for today," I said.

"Okay," said Dad. "Where's Carlos?"

"He's got a detention for punching me on my arm," I said as I showed him the bruise.

"Why did he do that to you?" asked Dad.

"He just gets aggressive when I don't stay in the middle. I'm tired of being in the middle. You know what he said to me? I'm not a good listener. I'm sure good listeners do not like to be in the middle," I said.

"I agree with you," said Dad.

"Meredith brought me to the nurse's office to get me an ice pack," I said. "Thank goodness Kristy came to my rescue. She mentioned it to the teacher. So, that's why Carlos has a detention for two days starting today."

"He also needs to apologize to me for what he did. I'm not the one who embarrassed him in the library in front of everyone to get them to tease me," said Meredith.

Later, when Carlos came home, Dad and Sharon were waiting for him.

"So, I heard you punched Mary Anne on her arm," said Dad.

"You really need to stop to get her in the middle. She's sick and tired of it," said Sharon. "We don't blame her. You should apologize to her what you did to her. You and Meredith should do the same to each other if you both want to get off your punishments."

"No way. They both got me in trouble," said Carlos.

"Whose fault was that then?" asked Sharon. "You shouldn't punch Mary Anne or embarrass Meredith in the first place. Try this one: no apologizing, no basketball practices or games."

"That's a good idea," said Dad.

"No fair!" yelled Carlos.

"Don't you yell at us," said Sharon. "That's the way it is."

"You know the rules when you get a detention," said Dad. "You would be grounded for two weeks."

Thank god Meredith and I weren't home at the time in case he flips out on us. The next day, Carlos managed to apologize for what he did.

"I accept your apology, but you should also apologize to Meredith. She's still upset for what _you_ did to her," I said.

I didn't dare to tell him Meredith's punishment ended this morning for being good in case he gets mad or jealous.

"You heard what Sharon said earlier. If you don't apologize to both of us, there would be no basketball practice or games," I said. "I don't want to see her hurt. Tell me everything is fine, but I'm sick and tired of you to put me in the middle."

In the library, I was with Meredith where I was studying for a test while she was doing an assignment. Sewing class was taking a short break for thirty minutes.

"Teacher's pet," I heard a girl said.

I got up to get over to her.

"Stop teasing my sister," I said standing up for Meredith.

"Make me," said the girl.

"Just stop it," I said. "It's not her fault she does work without being told. Everyone should do work without being told. If you didn't do that what your boss tells you to do if you had a job, you wouldn't last too long. So, leave my sister alone."

"Yeah, Carlos shouldn't tell you guys that in the first place," said Meredith.

The only friend who treated her like a friend was Marci.

"I agree with them," said Marci.

"Whose side are you on?" asked the girl.

"Their side," said Marci. "Do you want to take a risk to get in trouble? We could arrange that you know."

That made the girl leave us alone.

"What a bully thanks to Carlos," said Marci.

"I know," agreed Meredith.

"How come you ended your punishment today?" asked Carlos.

"Who told you?" asked Meredith.

"Not me, I didn't mention a thing in case he gets jealous," I said.

"I heard Dawn opened up her mouth," said Kristy who came in.

"All I said he should apologize to Meredith as well. He already apologized to me," I said.

"I just got called a teacher's pet thanks to you, Carlos," said Meredith. "Don't even say a word to me until you're ready to apologize to me."

That was when she left with tears rolling down.

"You really hurt her feelings," said Marci. "She has no friends because of what you said in front of everybody. She did nothing wrong."

She went to Meredith's so-called friends and said, "Next time, don't take Carlos' side."

"We did it to shut him up," said a boy. "We didn't want to hear it from him."

"Why didn't you tell her that? Did you think she wouldn't believe you?" asked Marci.

"She did got mad what you call her. You're lying because you called her that name," I said. "I can tell you're lying. She will know you're lying, too."

"I didn't pay attention what Carlos did," said Cassandra. "Billy is the one who made us to believe Carlos, but I didn't want to. I told Billy why I should turn away from my best friend? I have been telling him to stop calling Meredith a teacher's pet. I flipped out on Carlos for creating problems."

"I'm glad you did the right thing for Meredith," I said.

"You don't make anyone to take Carlos' side," Marci told Billy.

"Actually, yes we...," started Billy.

"How about it's the wrong thing to do?" asked Kristy.

"We care about Meredith," said Marci.

"I don't want my sister to get upset," I added.

Marci went to Carlos and said, "You're the one to blame, Carlos, not the others. That's your fault on what you did to Meredith. Would you like if she did that to you?"

I talked to their teacher about it and I learned Carlos has been getting into trouble for creating problems that made Meredith upset during the whole thing. Why did he think she hasn't been speaking to him from the start? Meredith never gets in trouble for anything. On top of that, Carlos has been lying to me… the teacher never told him to do something else when Meredith was doing her assignment.

I did told the teacher they have been at it to each other since that day that caused to get punished.

"My dad can't stand yelling in the house at all. He had enough with them, that's why they were both grounded until they could apologize to each other," I said.

"I don't blame Meredith for getting mad at Carlos," said the teacher.

"I've been trying to stay out of the middle. Don't me wrong, I'm a good listener, but I don't want to be in the middle. I've been trying to tell them to work things out on their own," I said.

"I agree with you about that," said the teacher. "Do they usually talk things out before?"

"Yes. They had that issue one time," I said. "It would drive me nuts."

"You can let your father on what I told you about Carlos lying to you. I'll have to keep him after school for three more days," said the teacher.

"Okay. I'm glad I came to you then," I said. "Carlos was wrong to cause Meredith to get teased by being called teacher's pet."

"You got a good point on that," said the teacher.

"Cassandra said she refused to turn away from Meredith because that was her best friend. She also flipped out on Carlos for creating issues," I said.

"I gave her credit for standing up for Meredith," said the teacher.

I went to Meredith to tell her what the teacher told me.

"He's right that Carlos had lied," said Meredith.

She talked to me about her problems and wanted to end her own life from stress. She told me what she had in mind to kill herself while I listened quietly. I could tell her she has been furious and upset. She didn't want me to tell Dad or Sharon. At least I'm not in the middle any longer. That's how it should be. She did tell me Cassandra was correct about refusing taking Carlos' side. I was glad for that, too.


	7. Meredith Makes Up with Carlo

After school, I realized I had to tell Dad about what was going on. I knew I shouldn't keep quiet about what Meredith planned to do. I went in the house. He was off today. Jennifer started her vacation today. She would be in Vermont for a few days. I went to Dad and told him about what the teacher and Meredith told me. He did hear that Carlos lied.

"I could tell Meredith to use my therapist," I said.

"That would help her out," said Dad.

"Carlos really did hurt Meredith," I said. "He was the one who refused to do another assignment. Meredith has been doing extra credit. She did nothing wrong to create an issue like that."

I wrote down my therapist's office number and went to give it to Meredith.

"Perhaps seeing my therapist would help you out," I said.

"I could do that," said Meredith.

"I'll bring you there since I use her myself," I said.

I called Dr. Reece, telling her what has been going on, and made an appointment for Meredith tomorrow.

"Maybe she can give me advice on how to handle Carlos. He never gives me that problem before. We always get along," said Meredith.

"I remembered he caused a war when you forgot to tell him you couldn't make it to a basketball game because you promised Cassandra you girls would hang out, but it took him a while to believe you," I pointed out.

Meredith realized I was right.

"I wanted to block that part out," said Meredith.

The next day, we were at Dr. Reece's office and she listened about everything Meredith has been telling Reece.

"It makes me want to commit suicide," said Meredith. "I remembered he did that to me last time, just because I couldn't attend his basketball game because I was with a friend. He wouldn't believe me until Cassandra proved I was telling him the truth. How should I handle Carlos after what he's doing to me? I want to make up with him."

"You can tell him on you have been feeling," said Dr. Reece. "You can tell him you want to talk to him privately and tell him about your feelings."

"I'll give that a shot. I don't want to give up for trying," said Meredith. "It turned out my so-called friends took Carlos' side to shut him up. They didn't want to hear from him. No one told me because they thought I wasn't going to believe him. Billy was the real bully who made my friends believe Carlos and to get them to call me a teacher's pet. None of them wanted to do that. A girl did that to me, too."

"Some of her friends told me that. I asked them why they didn't just tell Meredith. They gave me the same answer. I was standing up for her when I heard a girl called Meredith a teacher's pet," I added.

"It was good you were there to help her out," said the therapist.

"I know," I said.

Before we left, I asked Meredith to wait for me in the waiting room so I can talk to Dr. Reece for a moment. She agreed to. Then, I told the therapist Carlos and Meredith were trying to put me in the middle.

"That drove me nuts the most. I tried to stay out of it when they wanted to me on their side of the stories by telling them I didn't had the time to listen to them. I wanted them to talk to each other and work things out on their own. I don't need to fail the sewing class for short takes because all of that," I explained.

"I don't blame you for that," said Dr. Reece.

"That's why I asked Meredith to wait in the waiting room so she won't hear," I said. "I didn't want to tell you in front of them. One of them told me I wasn't a good listener. I told them good listeners shouldn't be forced to be in the middle."

"I agree with you," said the therapist.

After we were done, Meredith told me she felt better after seeing my therapist.

"I'm glad you referred me to her," said Meredith.

"I know. I've been seeing her especially when I was grieving from Kayla's death," I said. "I miss her, but the therapist helped me to learn how to cope."

At home, Meredith was nervous on what to say to Carlos because she was afraid to make things worse. He got grounded for lying for a few extra more weeks. Dad made up a story he found out on his own; Carlos didn't know the teacher talked to me about it.

Somehow, Meredith managed to have a talk with Carlos to tell him how she felt on what he did to her. Luckily, he listened and finally apologized to her. He also apologized for lying to me. That didn't stop him from being grounded for that or from having the detention. At least they were able to make up. I felt glad about that.

The end.


End file.
